Svetlana and Oleg Andrianov have spent much of the past 30 years building their successful family business in Russia from the ground up, having created a boot brand marketed for outdoor activities and the military. The couple currently employs over 1,000 staff in their two factories, which produce 5 million pairs of boots annually.
For several years, Faraday was the sole supplier of boots to the Interior Ministry and the Russian National Guard, and the company’s business model has always focused on winning government contracts.
While it is common practice for manufacturers to drastically slash prices to win contracts, often at the expense of quality, the Andrianovs chose a different path, and have developed a reputation for refusing to compromise on the quality of their products, even when this has meant losing out to other Russian companies for government contracts.
Unsanctioned growth
The war in Ukraine does’t appear to have impacted Faraday as much as you might expect. Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Faraday’s public VK account published several anti-war posts, which were quickly deleted, as the company claimed its account was hacked and apologised for posting “political and extremist content”. This mishap didn’t seem to deter the Russian Defence Ministry from signing contracts with Faraday, whose combat boots were now in high demand.
The details of procurement orders made by Russia’s Defence Ministry have been classified since the beginning of the war, but there is substantial evidence to indicate that Faraday has been supplying footwear to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
Faraday is listed as a tailor “supplying clothing items” by Voentorg, Russia’s main military supplies retailer, and several mobilised soldiers serving in Ukraine have confirmed to Novaya Europe that Faraday boots were issued to them as standard kit.